BenQ launched its first 1.3-megapixel camera phone, the S700, in Taiwan yesterday. The company also announced that the model is available in Europe through UK-based mmO2 under the brand name, X3.
BenQ has two additional own-brand phone models, the M300 and S670, being promoted in Europe by mmO2, the company said. BenQ also cooperates with France-based telecom carrier Bouygues Telecom, for the S660 model, the company added.
Buoyed by strong sales in Europe and India, the company expects to reach monthly own-brand phone sales of 500,000 units in the fourth quarter, up from its earlier estimate of 300,000, according to the Chinese-language Commercial Times today.
Five new models are slated to be launched by the second quarter of 2005, the P30 Symbian-based smartphone, the Windows-based P50 smartphone and upgrade models of the M300, A500 and U700, to target the high-end market, indicated the paper.
In related news, international investment banks Merrill Lynch, CLSA Emerging Markets and Deutsche Bank reported mixed projections about BenQ’s rating.
BenQ may receive a volume order of three million phones from Nokia next year, which will be less than the five million market sources had estimated, Merrill Lynch said. The US-based investment bank lowered its EPS (earnings per share) projection for BenQ this year, from NT$4.3 to NT$3.8. Merrill Lynch also revised its 2005 EPS forecast to NT$3.73, down from NT$4.2.
Vincent Chen, an analyst at CLSA believes that BenQ will ship 3.5 million phones to Nokia in 2005. With increasing design capabilities on clamshell and CDMA mobile phones, the company should add new ODM orders for next year, said Chen. The Hong Kong-based investment bank upgraded BenQ’s rating to buy.
Cooperation with Nokia should raise BenQ’s ODM performance, forecast Deutsche Bank. Due to lower ASPs (average selling prices) for mobile phones, handset makers will strive for more ODM orders, the Germany-based investment bank said.
S700 1.3-megapixel camera phone from BenQ
Photo: Allen Lin, DigiTimes.
Article translated by Jessie Shen and edited by John McClure
